Mistake Master
Student view — seeing the site as a student does
Mistake Master · AP Chemistry · Unit 9 · Step-Through Animation

One Minus Sign Ties ΔG° to K

You'll learnhow ΔG° and K encode the same information, what ΔG° = 0 really means, and why dropping the minus sign inverts every verdict.

Unit 7 measured how far a reaction goes and called it K. Unit 9 asks whether it is favoured and calls it ΔG°. They turn out to be the same statement in different units, joined by one equation whose minus sign is doing all the work. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.

12 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · ΔG° = −RT ln K · K = 1 AT THE PIVOT · v2

the same reaction, measured two ways · ΔG° = −RT ln K
Before you start
What you're looking at
An axis of equilibrium constants, with a small flask under each stop showing the mixture there.
The question
Unit 7 gave this reaction a K. Unit 9 gives it a ΔG°. How are the two related?
Step 1 / 12